Opinion

TalkBACK

Property tax hike should be nipped in the bud, and soon

Nashoba Publishing

Posted:
02/15/2013 07:38:44 AM EST

Will it ever end? Property tax increases need to stop ... Ayer committee members need to stop picking the homeowners' pockets by taking care of everyone else's needs. It's time for property owners to unite and vote down spending at Town Meetings, if the committees don't stop it -- the taxpayer of Ayer needs a spokesperson for the property owners. We need 50 people to stand with this person, we need all 50 of those people to bring two registered voters with them to the Town Meeting, we need to vote down any raise and appropriate articles that come before us, we need to question all departments that spent lots of money towards the end of the year, because it was excess and they didn't want to turn it in.

Unions need to come to the table at contract time and ask for nothing, loopholes in the contracts need to be taken out, perks they have gotten over the years need to be done away with. The property owner can not afford anymore to be so giving while we are barely getting by. We need to take back what has gotten out of control. Ayer needs to stop comparing itself to other towns in order to get an average price for things such as raises, grids, licenses, fees, etc. It's not the average we want, it's the lowest, if Ayer is the lowest, then that's where we need to be. That's how we get into these problems. It needs to stop, so let Ayer be the first stop to this madness.

Let's use common sense because property owners cannot continue to be everyone's money tree .

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.. With careful planning and lots of frugality, we should not have to use Proposition 2 1/2 at all. Stop using it because it's there, PLEASE start using common sense. Let's hope our committees can solve this before Town Meeting. If they can't, then the property owners need to strongly voice their sentiments at Town Meeting by voting down many articles.

If we can get a spokesman for the property owners, I would gladly be one of the 50 people to sign on, and bring at least two people with me to Town Meeting and support the spokesman to the fullest. If this does not happen this year, then come to the 2014 board of selectmen/assessors meeting. You will see a big jump in your property taxes. This is something real and it will happen unless we stop it.

We are all really very tired of the business-as-usual attitude and excuses. The elderly and others are being driven from their homes because of higher property taxes every year. It needs to stop. Do the right thing, committee people. It may be hard to do, but it is the right thing to do. Start working for people that pay the bills. We as homeowners are paying other peoples salaries, insurance, benefits, perks, and so many other things, and by doing so we are losing our homes. It's not right, and it needs to stop.

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